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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25160032">we can't date if you don't skate</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/postalcoast/pseuds/postalcoast'>postalcoast</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Red Dead Redemption (Video Games)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Everyone in John's skater gang is basically stuck in the early 2000s, John &amp; Arthur adopt dogs together, John &amp; Arthur live in the suburbs, M/M, Scrapbooking dad Hosea Matthews, Skateboarding YouTuber John Marston, Youtube AU, Zoo Keeper Arthur Morgan, mentions of bill &amp; ted's excellent adventure, mentions of the tony hawk pro skater franchise, michaels the arts &amp; craft store???, who also loves to paint</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-07-09</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-09-14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-18 04:08:46</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>13,594</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25160032</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/postalcoast/pseuds/postalcoast</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Despite having met once before at Space Mountain over fifteen years ago, Arthur kinda wants to meet his long-lost childhood friend again. Finding John's YouTube channel does nothing but persuade Arthur even further.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>John Marston/Arthur Morgan</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>51</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>58</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>inspired by the idea of John having a YouTube channel &amp; also this <a href="https://i.pinimg.com/originals/0d/46/f8/0d46f8016f918525ea0da88ec84c9edf.jpg">pic</a></p><p>also thanks again to the friends at the morston discord for being excellent</p><p>The sentences in bold are from John's videos.</p><p>And also to clarify up the ages: John's in his mid twenties &amp; Arthur's in his late twenties</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Arthur’s bored. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The kind of weariness that might excuse the need to browse through a somehow easily obtained yet somehow uncharted section of YouTube while on a usually cherished lunch break. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He’s already got a lot accomplished today, as far as weighing the animals, cleaning, and putting together their meals. He still has to make a few feeding rounds for the ferrets, monkeys, lemurs, and meerkats, as well as a showing and then, it should be the end of a long, tiring day.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“- and they told us one of the cheetahs will need to have her eye removed,” Charles says before taking a bite of his burger. The two of them have formed a sort of routine, meeting for lunch every day in the valley section of the zoo. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Charles is one of the head keepers for the big cat section, only a little way down from the small mammal house where Arthur is stationed. Arthur’s known Charles since the day he started working at the New Austin Zoo, and what credit wasn’t taken by Hosea for training Arthur could easily be claimed by Charles, himself. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Taima?” Arthur looks up from his phone after somehow settling on the “idiotic and dangerous skateboarding stunts” section of YouTube. “Shit, Charles - it’s that bad, huh?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>One of the more friendlier residents of the Great Cats Exhibit on the upper end of the zoo could easily be claimed as one of Charles’s favorites, as well as those who visited the zoo. Taima had been pretty much raised around humans and had received human contact for a large chunk of her life. It was nothing for Arthur to stop by and say goodbye to Charles before he left for the day, only to find Charles sitting on the ground, petting and spending the last few minutes of his shift with Taima. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“She should recover fairly well,” Charles sounds more certain than optimistic, Arthur notices as he settles on one of the videos titled, “GNARLY Skate Stunts!!” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Arthur almost feels guilty for not giving Charles his full attention, because it’s not that Charles or anything about the conversation with Charles bores him. If Arthur had to place the blame, he’d blame it on his lack of self-control when it came to spiraling down even further in a sea of ridiculous home videos and skaters that didn’t mind sending themselves to the emergency room. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The video he’s watching now seems to be the perfect unison between the two, featuring a loud-mouthed redhead and another guy with long black hair that looks almost distinctly familiar to someone Arthur might’ve met in person. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Arthur watches - although the video’s muted, he’s got the automatic subtitles titles on, as the two guys explain one of the stunts they’re about to perform. The camera moves, taking in a close up of the guy with the long, black hair, all smiles, and laughter - and it hits Arthur. Just about as suddenly and unwarranted as the brick wall that the poor guy purposely skates into. What people would do for entertainment, these days. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The memory’s hazy at best, one buried deep down with the rest of Arthur’s childhood. He remembers that face, though, and if he closes his eyes he can practically see it. Disney World, years ago, standing behind a line of dozens of people at Space Mountain, the guy’s face - now more youthful and covered in chocolate. Laughing, laughing, laughing. Hell, maybe Arthur was laughing, too. He couldn’t remember. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Arthur remembered seeing that same face, years later, in a picture book that Hosea kept back at the house. The picture was of himself, practically on the brink of eleven, with a couple of teeth missing from his smile and a pair of Mickey Mouse ears settled on top of his head. Beside him, was the boy, hair still dark and unruly, mouth still covered in chocolate from the ice cream cone he had in his hand. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Arthur had automatically asked who the other kid was, to which Hosea had explained that he was one of Dutch van der Linde’s sons, and that boy was Arthur’s best friend on that day they visited the Magic Kingdom. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“And who’s Dutch van der Linde?” Arthur remembered asking.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Some sharp-dressed feller standing in line behind us,” Hosea had said, like Arthur should’ve already remembered the man perfectly. “His boy kept trying to knock your ears off, and you turned around and said he could borrow them up until we got on the ride. I remember Mr. van der Linde had wondered how on Earth I’d managed to raise such a well-mannered and generous young man.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>And now, Arthur watches as the same kid from Disney World - all grown and still as hectic, hurls himself into another brick wall as his red-headed friend laughs in the background. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You okay, man?” Charles’s voice is enough to snap Arthur out of his self-induced trance. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Arthur blinks up at Charles, who eyes him with a mixture of wariness and concern, before glancing back down at his phone long enough to back out of the video and stuff his phone back in his pocket. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, I just - uh,” Arthur starts and then trails off, all the excuses as to why he was watching grown men skateboard into various objects falling short. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Charles still watches him, as patient as ever, and Arthur stands, grabbing up his tray and half-finished bottle of water. “I gotta go see Hosea for a minute.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Charles doesn’t question the sudden outburst, he just gives a nod as if Arthur wasn’t being completely and totally irrational right now. “Alright, then, see you later, I guess.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>***</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“D’you still have that old picture of me at Disneyland?” The question is a sudden one, with no explanation, and yet Hosea looks at Arthur as if it doesn’t surprise him in the least.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“There’s plenty of old pictures of you at Disneyland,” Hosea replies, cutting up a few fruits and vegetables for the birds. “I’m afraid you’ll have to be specific.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“The one with me and the other kid with the ice cream,” Arthur leans up against the counter, looking at Hosea, whose attention is focused down at his hands as he carefully slices an apple into small chunks. “We’re in line for Space Mountain.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I suppose it’s somewhere back at the house, but I’ll look for it tonight,” Hosea says, as if he doesn’t keep every picture from Arthur’s childhood neatly stored away in a big binder of a scrapbook. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He finishes cutting up the apple, this time looking up to meet Arthur’s gaze. “Why’re you so interested in </span>
  <em>
    <span>that </span>
  </em>
  <span>specific picture all of a sudden?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I think I just saw the guy,”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Here at the park?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No, on the internet,”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Hosea’s brows automatically furrow at this, to which Arthur elaborates. “He’s got a bunch of videos uploaded on there - of him on a skateboard and doing tricks.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Ah, okay,” Hosea goes back to what he’s doing, grabbing for a bag of grapes and separating them before throwing them in the small bowl with the apple chunks. “You thinking of asking him for skateboarding lessons? It’s a very popular sport nowadays, isn’t it?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“About fifteen years ago, sure,” Arthur chuckles, and the small room echoes with the sound. “I don’t know what I’m thinkin’ about doing, honestly. I just - well, I don’t know-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’ll find it for you, tonight,” Hosea says, glancing back up at Arthur with a warm smile. “Now, if you’re not still on break, you can help me feed the owls.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>And, Hosea, true to his word as always, finds the picture and gives it to Arthur later that night.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“His name’s John, if I remember it right,” Hosea says as Arthur stares down at his ten-year-old self - who’s staring right back up at him, an arm hooked around the younger familiar black-haired feral-looking boy. The name matches up with what his friends were calling him in the video.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>John. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Arthur even takes the liberty of showing Hosea some of John’s videos of him and his red-haired friend skateboarding into various objects and a few more of him actually doing stunts at a skatepark. Hosea doesn’t comment much, just mostly winces when John makes a bad landing or mumbles a quiet, “oh, wow” when John pulls off a series of flips or grinds off a long railing. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Seems like you two could still be the best of friends,” Hosea says when Arthur’s shoving his phone back into his pocket. Arthur isn’t completely sure if that’s an actual observation or just a bit of sarcastic humor, but he puts the picture, neatly folded, into his other pocket and rolls his eyes, anyway.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>***</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>“Get Chunk shit-</b>
  <b>
    <em>Chuck </em>
  </b>
  <b>unstuck - that’s a right tongue twister, there.”</b>
</p><p>
  <b>“He’s the one that got himself stuck, why do we gotta help him? He should ask one of his friends there to help him, you don’t just ask strangers to pry your tongue off a pole.”</b>
</p><p>
  <b>“I don’t think they’re his friends, John - they’re laughing at him.”</b>
</p><p>
  <b>“I would too, the poor bastard.”</b>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Turns out John’s YouTube channel is much more than just skating tricks and dangerous stunts, he also has a playlist titled “Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 - With Sean!!” in which its contents are pretty much self-explanatory. A whole playlist - out of many that Arthur hasn’t browsed through yet, which is dedicated to John’s multiplayer gaming sessions with his red-haired friend as they play Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3. And the red-haired friend now has a name - Sean.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Sean and John. God, they’re perfect for each other.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>John also has playlists in which he plays the first, second, and fourth Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater with Sean in multiplayer as well. As well as a few of the Underground editions. Arthur’s only vaguely familiar with the franchise, having played a few of them when he was younger, but if he had to hazard a guess, he’d say it’s Sean and John’s favorite video game series. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It’s quickly approaching two o’clock in the morning and Arthur can’t sleep, so naturally, laying in bed and watching some more of John’s YouTube videos with his earphones in seemed like the best answer to help him beat his insomnia. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>“Wait, did you finish the SKATE already?”</b>
</p><p>
  <b>“I did, Johnny-boy. Where are you at?”</b>
</p><p>
  <b>“I’m still over here trying to impress these skaters - </b>
  <b>
    <em>FUCK!</em>
  </b>
  <b>”</b>
</p><p>
  <b>“I don’t think you’re impressing them much by falling on your face.”</b>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Arthur huffs out a laugh at that. Even with his lack of knowledge when it comes to the game, it’s still a simple score-based multiplayer mode, and Sean and John’s back and forth bantering is enough to keep Arthur entertained, alone.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The picture Hosea gave him still lays on his end table where he left it, digging it out of his pants pocket before he stripped off his clothes and got in bed to make an unless attempt at falling asleep.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Arthur isn’t really sure what to do with it, or why he even wanted it. So what this guy is the grown-up kid he met at Disneyland all those years ago?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>So what if Arthur finds himself wandering if John still remembers that day at Disneyland or if he even remembers Arthur at all?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Probably not, but still - something within Arthur kinda wants to reach out to John and ask anyway. But, god, he’d have to be out of his mind to actually do something like that, right? </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Right?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Arthur exits out of the video and goes to another playlist titled “Vlogs” and selects the latest update: a video titled “drain ur pools - some skaters can’t swim!!” with a picture of John’s face, closeup, and with an awkward expression as he must be mid-sentence.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>These videos seem to be the more relaxed option, seeing as it’s just John carrying his camera around and talking to himself. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The camera angles aren’t the best, parts of the video are focused on John’s face from an upward angle as he strolls through what seems to be a neighborhood and other parts are just shots of his black, faded Converse walking along the concrete sidewalk. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>“I’m on my way to the skatepark to meet up with Sean, seeing as I’m banned from using the O’Driscoll’s pool as a skate ramp now.”</b>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>John walks on a little further, the background noises of birds and John’s feet slapping against the concrete take over. Arthur watches from the upward angle on John’s face in which the camera is pointed at. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>“Y’know I don’t even get what the problem is, anyway. Why not use your pool as a place to skate when you’re not using it to swim in? Multi-purpose. Why even use a pool to swim in the first place, you could drown in them. </b>
  <b>
    <em>I would drown in them. </em>
  </b>
  <b>It’s like havin’ a fuckin’ weapon in your backyard.”</b>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Arthur scrolls down from the video a bit to see it has 27 views and it was from one week ago. Also, it has two likes, one dislike, and one comment from Sean which is nothing but a crying laughing emoji. Also, John only has one subscriber - Sean.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Arthur isn’t sure why he expected John’s channel to have more attention, and Arthur isn’t sure about anything apparently, seeing as he just presses the subscribe button without even thinking about it. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Now John has two subscribers. Arthur figures John probably deserves more seeing as the channel is something John apparently puts time into and his content isn’t half-bad.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>“I’d only have a pool to use it for like - I don’t know, impressing some guy I liked or something but if he wasn’t even more impressed that I used it as a skate ramp then what’s the point?”</b>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>John, then, picks the camera up and brings it close to his face again. With this closeup, Arthur can see John’s got a bit of a fringe hanging over the sides of his forehead. It’s overgrown and the loose stray hairs hang in his eyes a bit before he shakes his head and the hairs fall away in submission. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>“And we can’t date if you don’t skate.”</b>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He’s got this open-mouthed smile plastered on his face, now. Self-satisfied and goofy. Arthur doesn’t know how to describe it with any word other than cute. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He closes out of the YouTube app completely, as well as shutting down that train of thought. To call John cute at that moment would insinuate that he thinks </span>
  <em>
    <span>John, as a whole entire being </span>
  </em>
  <span>is cute, and that would be ridiculous because he doesn’t even know the guy. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Sure, there’s such a thing as being able to acknowledge and appreciate a person’s attractiveness but something about this seems far more personal to Arthur than what seems necessary. Like he knows John, already. Which, he does, in a way. He knows the kid John that stood in line with him at Space Mountain and pestered him for his Mickey Mouse ears, but he doesn’t know </span>
  <em>
    <span>this </span>
  </em>
  <span>John. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>But...maybe he’d like to.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>***</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Two days pass, the Disneyland picture still remains half-folded on Arthur’s end table and Arthur finds himself going back to John’s channel when he’s sitting at his kitchen table having breakfast. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He has about an hour until he has to be at work, and he still hasn’t showered yet, or got dressed. Plus, he has to make about a twenty-minute commute to the zoo. Either way, there’s plenty of more productive things Arthur could be doing right now besides sitting in his underwear, eating cereal, and scrolling through a former childhood friend’s YouTube channel. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>John has uploaded one new video since the last time Arthur checked, and this one has a thumbnail of John mid-sentence again with the title, “TWO subscriber special”. Arthur can’t help but grin a little bit at that. Seems his subscription did go a little more noticed than what he originally thought it would.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Arthur selects the video and after waiting through an ad, he sees John, now sitting in a room instead of just wandering through a neighborhood, absolutely beaming at the camera. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>“Well, it seems as if things are finally looking up for this channel. And I know you’re watching this, Sean, so I’m gonna go ahead and say it - you’re not the only subscriber around here anymore.”</b>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The video turns out to be another vlog-styled video of John’s, one that he just yammers on with his thoughts and what’s happened to him recently. If Arthur were one for metaphors and other dumb analogies, he might say that John had an obvious pep in his step during the recording of this one. His voice is lighter, and it seems that he just can’t stop smiling.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maybe it means something that Arthur indirectly caused this, or maybe it means something that Arthur can’t stop smiling either.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>John seems happier. Happy looks good on him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It’s nice to know Arthur might’ve made a difference. He’s always had a soft spot for helping people and seeing people be happy. It’s one of the reasons he enjoys his job at the zoo so much, the sheer joy on people’s faces as they look at all those beautiful animals is nothing short of intoxicating.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Arthur scrolls down to the comments, in which Sean has left a supposed direct message for Arthur, saying, “this town ain’t big enough for the both of us” followed by a water gun emoji. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Arthur chuckles at that, closes out of the app, and drags himself into the bathroom to take a shower, finally getting started for the day. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>***</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>“Y’know what would be cool? Having a giant painting of yourself up in your house like those rich people do. Like the one from Scarface where it’s him and his wife but y’know I’d just get one of me - doing something cool.”</b>
</p><p>
  <b>“You could just get your picture taken and take it to a CVS and get it blown up real proper-”</b>
</p><p>
  <b>“No, Sean - a </b>
  <b>
    <em>painting</em>
  </b>
  <b>. Any idiot can get their picture taken.”</b>
</p><p>
  <b>“I’d have one of me and me skateboard. Just standing in some fog or somethin’. That’d look cool.”</b>
</p><p>
  <b>“I’d at least be </b>
  <b>
    <em>on </em>
  </b>
  <b>the skateboard. Doin’ a kickflip or somethin’.”</b>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Arthur’s watching another one of John’s multiplayer videos with Sean that night and he’s still debating on how and why he should bring the Disneyland picture up when an idea is practically handed over to him in the form of John and Sean’s casual back and forth. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Arthur paints. And he draws, but that’s moreso for his own personal enjoyment or time consumption but he does painting commissions from time to time when he’s a bit low on cash. The painting John mentions is something Arthur could probably manage, he’s done portraits for people before, but he isn’t really sure if it’s his place to just waltz in and suggest doing a commission for a painting that John mentioned in a video two weeks ago.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It isn’t his place probably because he still doesn’t really even know John, nor is he sure John remembers him. At this point, wanting to get to know someone as much as Arthur kinda maybe wants to know John is strange. Yet he finds himself thinking about it. A lot. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maybe he’s just lonely and having Charles as a work friend and someone to go out and have a few beers with on the weekend isn’t cutting it anymore.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It just doesn’t make any sense. Nothing about this makes any sense.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>What makes even less sense is Arthur actually scrolling down to the comments section and typing out, “I could probably do that painting for you if you want.” and hitting the comment button, publishing his lame and pathetic excuse to try and befriend a kid he met at Disneyland over fifteen years ago.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Before he can think any more about it and before he can think of any more ways to publicly humiliate himself, Arthur turns his phone off, placing it on the bedside table next to the Disneyland picture and goes to sleep. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>***</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Arthur doesn’t check his phone again until he gets out of the shower that next morning, and amongst the usual notifications of local news and weather updates, there’s a YouTube notification informing him that someone has replied to his comment on “THPS 4 Multiplayer or I kick Sean’s ass for the BILLIONTH time”. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Oh, God. He’d completely forgotten about the-</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Arthur selects the notification and it takes him automatically to John’s reply. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Really?? Cool!! You got fiverr??”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Arthur </span>
  <em>
    <span>does, </span>
  </em>
  <span>in fact, have a Fiverr account. He used to have an Etsy, but Fiverr worked out a lot better with commissions. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Arthur has to go in the browser and pull up his fiverr account before copying the link and pasting as a reply to John’s own reply. And maybe Arthur overreacted a little about this. Maybe everything’s fine. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He still doesn’t know if he should bring up the Disneyland picture, but that’s another bridge to avoid crossing until yet another day.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>***</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Arthur does, however, show the picture to Charles.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Aw,” is the first thing Charles says before glancing back up at Arthur. “Who’s the other kid?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“John,” Arthur says. And it’s so weird, talking about him like he actually </span>
  <em>
    <span>knows </span>
  </em>
  <span>the guy. Which, they’ve had an official back and forth via YouTube comments, so maybe they do? Probably not. Arthur doesn’t know. “I’m doing a painting commission for him over the weekend.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Is he one of your childhood friends?” Charles asks, and the question is just meant for mere conversational purposes but it’s one that Arthur really has no idea how to answer.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Would John be considered a childhood friend if they literally just spent a few hours together at Disneyworld together?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Not really,” Arthur laughs, more at himself than anything else because that’s probably the most honest answer to that question. “I met him at Disneyworld when I was ten. Found his YouTube channel over fifteen years later and now,” Arthur sighs, because all of this sounded so much less ridiculous in his head. “I’m doing a commission for him.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Charles is smirking a bit when Arthur looks at him. Amused, but definitely not to the degree that it could be considered mocking. “That’s kind of cute,” He says, and hands the picture back to Arthur. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Shut up,” Arthur says in a way that means the complete opposite, and he’s putting the picture back in his pocket just as neatly folded as it was before.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>***</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>John contacts Arthur on Fiverr later that day with many thanks (for doing the commission as well as for the subscription) as well as a few details of what he’d like for the painting, mostly leaving most of the artistic reigns in Arthur’s hands, as well as his budget and a few reference pictures for Arthur to go by. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Arthur picks up a 36’’ x 48’’ size canvas at Michaels and while it might not </span>
  <em>
    <span>quite </span>
  </em>
  <span>be Scarface level giant, it’ll sure fit John’s description.  </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It takes Arthur a total of five days altogether to finish, and taking a step back to examine the finished product, Arthur’s got to say - he’s pretty satisfied. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A bright, blue sky and some trees behind John in the background, along with the concrete ramps of a skatepark below John in the foreground as he’s mid-air with his skateboard, doing a kickflip. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It’s definitely not the most ridiculous thing Arthur’s ever painted, and honestly he’s pretty stoked (God, he </span>
  <em>
    <span>has </span>
  </em>
  <span>to stop watching so many of John’s videos) about how it came out.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>And after sending John a picture of the finished product, John seems pretty pleased, if the amount of exclamation marks and heart emojis are anything to go by. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>***</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Even after John uploads a new video titled, “DOPE PORTRAIT OF ME DOING’ A KICKFLIP”, he and Arthur still keep in touch. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They become friends, more or less, despite Charles’s and Hosea’s mild teasings at something more lying beneath the surface. John will send Arthur snapchats of him and Sean doing tricks at the skatepark and Arthur will reply with snapchats of the brand new baby lemur, to which John will reply, “Looks like Sean,” with a couple of the crying laughing emojis for good measure.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Followed by another message saying, “Jk Sean isn’t that adorable”. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Even after all of that, it takes about two months for Arthur to finally send a snap of the picture of him and John at Disneyland all those years ago.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>To which John replies, “is that??? Me &amp; you????” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>And Arthur, fully regretting his decision now but also beating himself up for not at least somewhat </span>
  <em>
    <span>mentioning</span>
  </em>
  <span> it earlier, responds, “Yeah. Space Mountain about 15 years ago. Sorry I didn’t bring it up sooner I just didn’t know how.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>John replies almost immediately. “This is like the fucking Parent Trap, isn’t it??” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Sure, except we’re not long-lost siblings &amp; we’re definitely not Lindsey Lohan playing her own twin sister.” Arthur replies.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>To which John sends a picture of the two Lindsey Lohans standing side by side in yellow dresses with the caption “Me &amp; You at Space Mountain circa 2000” followed by a few laughing emojis. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Arthur laughs at this, running a hand over his face. Maybe Charles and Hosea are right. </span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>*PLEASE DON'T BE LIKE ARTHUR &amp; TRY LEARNING HOW TO SKATE WITHOUT PROPER HEADGEAR &amp; PADS IN A DUMB ATTEMPT TO IMPRESS YOUR CRUSH*</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>It’s not long, but maybe it’s too long - before John’s inviting Arthur to one of the skateparks near West Elizabeth.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>It’s one of the biggest outdoor skateparks in New Austin and West Elizabeth combined, one that John mentions is about a half-hour drive from where he and Sean live - one that they only visit for special occasions.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Arthur tries not to think too much about the implications that him being there to watch John skate might be considered the “special occasion.” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>They planned the occasion to fall perfectly on a day that both Arthur and John had off from work, and it’s not long (but again, maybe it’s too long) before the eve of “The Day” - as John and Arthur had been referring to it as - arrives. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Maybe I can teach you how to skateboard,” John’s saying over the phone as Arthur leaves the zoo after a long day of work and walks out to his truck. “That could be another thing we’d have in common.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>John had started calling him about two weeks after Arthur finally sent him the Disneyland picture. It’d become a ritual for John to call Arthur right after he got off work and talk to him on his drive home, just as Arthur would call John and talk to him on John’s way home from work. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>John worked at some liquor store on the outskirts of West Elizabeth that his practically adoptive father Dutch van der Linde owned, and judging by John’s grumblings on the phone to Arthur after he closed the store every weeknight, John fucking hated retail. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I wasn’t aware we had anything in common,” Arthur jokes as he climbs in the driver’s seat of his truck, cellphone balanced carefully between his ear and his shoulder. He hears John laugh on the other end. “Besides, I think I’d have better luck with teaching you how to swim than you would with teaching me how to skate.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah, right,” John huffs out another laugh, and Arthur starts up the truck and pulls out onto the road, heading for the quiet little suburban neighborhood in which he resides in about twenty minutes away. “I’m convinced that drowning in a watery grave is the way I’m meant to go.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Maybe I’m convinced that falling off a skateboard and busting my ass is a way I </span>
  <em>
    <span>don’t </span>
  </em>
  <span>wanna go,” Arthur says. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>John sighs at this, the sound coming through all static-y over the other end. “Yeah, well, we’re not </span>
  <em>
    <span>going </span>
  </em>
  <span>anywhere - enough talk about </span>
  <em>
    <span>going </span>
  </em>
  <span>places.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“You brought it up,” Arthur reminds him, and he’s right. Arthur can tell by that way that John laughs again that he knows Arthur’s right.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah, I know,” John admits, and then he goes quiet for a few seconds but breaks the silence again before Arthur can throw out a prodding hello. “How was your day?” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Eh, alright,” Arthur shrugs despite John not being able to see the gesture. He’s talked to him so much over the past few months that it’s easy to forget that he hasn’t actually </span>
  <em>
    <span>seen </span>
  </em>
  <span>John in person, yet. Sure, they’ve shared a few video calls back and forth, but as far as seeing each other in actual real-life - they haven’t. But, tomorrow should change that. “Some guy freaked on me after his friends told him they were going to the </span>
  <em>
    <span>seahorses </span>
  </em>
  <span>but he thought they meant </span>
  <em>
    <span>see horses</span>
  </em>
  <span> and he didn’t believe me when I told him we didn’t have horses at the zoo.” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>John laughs again, and this time it’s contagious, because Arthur’s laughing, too. “Shit, did you ever get him to believe you?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“No, I just pointed him in the direction of the seahorses and sent him on his way,” Arthur says, amusement still lingering behind in his voice. “My guess is he was extremely disappointed when he finally got there.” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>John goes quiet again, and this time, it’s Arthur that breaks the silence. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“What’re you </span>
  <em>
    <span>doin’</span>
  </em>
  <span>?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 2 Speedrun,” John answers like it’s obvious. Which, maybe it was, because what else would John be doing on his day off? “Sean’s got the record for twelve minutes and I’m about to finish it in eleven.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“People actually keep track of that?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I do,” John says, almost defensively. “And so does Sean, but he’s gonna have to keep track of it a little bit better because </span>
  <em>
    <span>I’m </span>
  </em>
  <span>about to beat his record.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, alright then, you have fun with that,” Arthur rolls his eyes, probably in the most half-hearted attempt he’s ever made.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>***</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>On “The Day”, Arthur lets himself sleep in a couple of hours longer than what he normally would, seeing as it’s about a thirty-minute drive to the skatepark and he doesn’t have to meet John there until noon. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Arthur wakes up to a snapchat video from John featuring Sean, eating a bowl of cereal with his cellphone lodged between his ear and his shoulder, apparently caught up in a game of “No, I Love You More”.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The camera’s pointed from an inconspicuous angle just above the kitchen table, John’s muffled giggling barely audible over Sean’s ramblings. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Finally, Sean breaks and goes, “Okay, maybe you do love me more.” to which after a moment, he pulls the phone away from his ear with a shocked look on his face. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I think she hung up on me,” He says to John, before noticing that John’s obviously recording him. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The video ends right after John’s hand covers the camera, with Sean’s voice in the background saying, </span>
  <em>
    <span>“Were you filmin’ me the whole time, you smug fucker?”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Chuckling to himself, Arthur trudges to the kitchen to have a bowl of cereal in Sean’s honor. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>It’s only after he’s taken a shower and is about to get dressed that things really start to sink in. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He browses through the clothes hung up in his closet, a towel tied around his hips, before he realizes he’s at a complete loss what to wear to a damn skatepark. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Sure, any old pair of jeans and a t-shirt would work just fine, but this isn’t just any old visitation to the skatepark. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>John has commented many times on how this skatepark is his and Sean’s “Holy Grail of Skateparks” and it only seems worth the drive just to skate when they’ve got something real to celebrate. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Not only that, but this is the first time John’s going to be seeing Arthur in person. That’s gotta count for something, too. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>And on top of all that, going by the bit of not so subtle flirting that’s been happening between Arthur and John these past few weeks, this may or may not be a date.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Is it a date? John would’ve said if it was supposed to be a date, he would’ve mentioned the word ‘date’ at least once. Did he mention it being a date? Fuck.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>If he wears jeans and a t-shirt, he might run the risk of appearing too underdressed, therefore making the importance of the occasion to Arthur pretty obvious. But, if he shows up in a dress shirt and slacks, he’ll probably be overdressed and look like a jackass. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>After about ten minutes too long of trying to decide, Arthur settles on a flannel shirt and a pair of his nicer jeans. Another snapchat from John reveals that he isn’t too overdressed, either, so that at least makes Arthur feel a bit more at ease. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Arthur receives another snapchat from John right before he’s about to leave the house, a selfie John took, a wide and toothy smile that looks more like he’s bearing his teeth than he is anything else, and his eyes are clenched shut, a few stray hairs from his fringe falling over them. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“See ya in thirty. Be there or be square!” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Followed by a couple of skateboard emojis. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Arthur replies with a selfie of his own, to which he has to take about five of them before he settles on one that he finds halfway decent. His own smile is a tight-lipped grin, his eyebrows sitting far up on his forehead with the expression. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“Will do.” </span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>***</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>It’s when Arthur stops for gas about fifteen minutes out that he checks his phone again and there’s another snapchat from John. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Arthur leans against the side of his truck, ignoring the smile that seems to always appear when he gets any sort of notification involving John, and opens the snap. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>It’s a picture of Sean behind the steering wheel, driving with one hand and flipping off the camera with the other. It’s captioned, “10 mins away!!” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Arthur closes out of the app and the goofy smile still lingers on his face even when he walks into the store to pay for his gas.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>***</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The skatepark is right across the road from a Hardee’s and the entire thing is half-way caged in by a wire fence. Arthur parks his truck, gets out, and automatically he spots John on the other side of the fence, jogging over towards him. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Arthur!” John calls out, gaining a few glances in his direction of the people nearby. He slows to a stop on the other side of the fence, and Arthur strolls up to it. So, this is it. This is John, current aspiring two-subscriber YouTuber and previous Mickey Mouse ear thief, in person. “You came!”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>John also has his ears pierced, which Arthur hasn’t noticed in all the pictures and videos he’s seen John in before. Small diamond studs in each ear. It kinda reminds Arthur of Judd Nelson in The Breakfast Club. All John would need to do is add a few more layers of clothing and some fingerless gloves and he’d probably look the part.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Nevertheless, Arthur can’t help but chuckle at John’s seeming surprise, gesturing out with his arms wide like he’s wondering what else John expected. “‘Course I did, I said I would.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>John mirrors his smile, moving his hands to take ahold of the fence through the holes in the wire. “Well, what with you leavin’ me on </span>
  <em>
    <span>read, </span>
  </em>
  <span>I wasn’t too sure.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“What?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“You opened my snap and didn’t reply,” John says as if it’s obvious. “You do that with a lot of them, actually.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I wasn’t aware I had to reply.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, </span>
  <em>
    <span>yeah</span>
  </em>
  <span>,” John huffs out, but he’s still grinning. “It’s kind of rude if you don’t reply to some of them. Nobody likes gettin’ left on read.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, I </span>
  <em>
    <span>apologize</span>
  </em>
  <span>,” Arthur’s chuckling again. He’s well-aware of the </span>
  <em>
    <span>concept </span>
  </em>
  <span>of being left on read, seeing as it was his ex-fiancee, Mary’s favorite way to end an argument all those years ago. Arthur guesses it was his own misjudgment to not assume the same concept applied to something like Snapchat, as well.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Apology accepted,” John makes a small step forward, the wire fence jingling with the movement, until he just pulls off of it completely. “C’mon, I’m just messin’ with you, let me introduce you to Sean and the rest of the gang.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>By the size of the smile on John’s face and the tone in his voice, Arthur’s almost sure John would’ve taken him by the hand and led him over to his group of friends. However, Arthur has to walk around the rest of the fence, John following him all the way, before he’s finally stepping onto the concrete of the skatepark. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>***</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Sean is just about as loud-mouthed and talkative as he is in John’s videos, going over to slap Arthur on the back like he’s an old friend. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The rest of John’s “crew” is made up of Abigail - a dark-haired girl that looks to be around John’s age, dressed in flannel and combat boots, Javier - who seems a bit overdressed in comparison to the others, and Lenny - the only one out of the other three who actually goes over and shakes Arthur’s hand rather than giving a glance and a half-hearted wave in his direction. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“So,” John says, driving Arthur’s attention away from the group and back on to him as he whisks him away with a warm hand on Arthur’s shoulder. “You wanna learn to skateboard or what?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Or what,” Arthur answers. Taking a glance around at all the others zooming by on their skateboards like it was nothing more than second nature, and Arthur has to admit, it’s all a bit intimidating. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Aw, c’mon,” John uses his free hand to smack lightly at Arthur’s arm. “I’ll be here the whole time, it’ll be fun.” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Fun for you or fun for me?” Arthur retorts, but looking over at the smile John’s wearing now, he’s having a bit of a hard time not giving in. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Both,” John shrugs. “If you don’t like it, we’ll stop - </span>
  <em>
    <span>and </span>
  </em>
  <span>I’ll even let you try and teach me how to swim sometime.” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Okay, alright,” Arthur says without much prodding, and his goofy John-induced grin is plastered back on his face within an instant. “</span>
  <em>
    <span>Fine.</span>
  </em>
  <span> But, I’m tellin’ you now, it’s a lost cause.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Maybe not,” John shrugs again, his hand still warm and guiding on Arthur’s shoulder. “Now - if you were to slide on a sheet of ice would you put your left foot forward or your right foot forward? Cause that’s the foot you wanna start off with as your front foot on the board.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>***</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>With a little demonstration on John’s behalf doubled as maybe a last-minute attempt at trying to impress Arthur, John hands his skateboard over, instructing Arthur to simply walk up and on it with his right foot forward. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Pretty soon, Arthur’s actually on the damn thing, giving a few tiny pushes with his left foot to get himself moving. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>After a few times in which it seemed the board wanted to move without his body, causing Arthur to nearly lose balance, John resorts to walking up along beside Arthur, holding onto his hand as Arthur skates across the flat concrete. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He had a bit of trouble transitioning his front foot to face straight when he’s not actually pushing himself to go, and he doesn’t really have to push as much anymore, seeing as John’s providing enough of a pull to get him moving. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>So, he’s got both feet straight on the board, sometimes taking his back foot off to push, and everything seems alright. Arthur’s nowhere near comfortable enough to attempt trying to make turns, so John’s more or less left to leading him around by the hand. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Only once does Arthur really get the board going a bit too fast for his comfort and he loses balance, pushing himself straight off the board. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Luckily, John moves to catch him before Arthur can fall face-first on the concrete. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>It takes Arthur a minute to realize their position, and that he’s literally just fallen </span>
  <em>
    <span>right into John’s arms. </span>
  </em>
  <span>And John’s just </span>
  <em>
    <span>standing there, </span>
  </em>
  <span>arms wrapped around Arthur’s torso, and Arthur’s hands are gripping hard onto John’s shoulders like there’s still the threat of him falling. But, there isn’t, and yet they continue to stand there like there is. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Arthur turns his head to look at John, wide-eyed - and it reminds him of every single cheesy romantic film he’s ever seen in his life. If only it were raining and some soft ballad was playing in the background and </span>
  <em>
    <span>maybe </span>
  </em>
  <span>that’d give Arthur the excuse to lean in and kiss John-</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Get a </span>
  <em>
    <span>room</span>
  </em>
  <span>, you two!” Sean calls over to them, a few feet away. “Some of us are still tryin’ to hold onto our lunch!”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>And that’s enough to break the trance, causing Arthur and John to awkwardly pick themselves back up like they weren’t just holding onto each other for dear life only seconds before. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>John huffs out a laugh, and his cheeks are tinged with pink. “I think maybe I should just show you how it’s done.” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>It takes Arthur a second longer than necessary to remember that he’s talking about skateboarding. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He’s probably blushing twice as hard as John is, so he averts his gaze to peer around for the offending skateboard, and he doesn’t seem to know what to do with his hands all of a sudden, so he just stuffs them in the pockets of his jeans. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Yes,” Arthur says. “I think I’d prefer that.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>***</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Arthur sits, slouched over, on a section of worn-out metal bleachers nearby, watching as John zooms around on his skateboard with nearly perfect ease. He’ll do a few kick-flips and ollie over some rails but it’s when John pulls off a particularly crafty trick, that he’ll glance over at Arthur with a beaming grin just to make sure Arthur’s still watching. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Sean’s sitting beside Arthur with a camcorder, recording John’s stunts for his channel. “Poor fucker, he really does have a bit of talent, shame others haven’t recognized it yet. Me da used to say that true talent usually goes unnoticed, and if that isn’t the truth in poor Johnny-boy’s case.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“His videos get quite a few views for the amount of subscribers he has,” Arthur says, and Sean huffs out a laugh at this. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Most of his views come from me,” Sean replies. “Quite a laugh, showing others how embarrassing your best friend can be sometimes.” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Arthur isn’t a hundred percent sure if Sean’s actually telling the truth or not, but the thought of him just replaying John’s videos to every person he meets is enough to make him laugh. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>John grinds off a lengthy rail and lands gracefully, and just as expected, he shoots a look back in Arthur’s direction. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“What about you?” Arthur asks. “How many subscribers do you have, then?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Sean looks at him proudly with that, like he was almost waiting on Arthur to ask. “Almost got meself </span>
  <em>
    <span>eighty thousand</span>
  </em>
  <span>,” He says, putting an unnecessary amount of emphasis on the words. “That silver play button is nearly mine, I tell ya. John asks me all the time how I got so many and I tell ‘em ‘you just gotta be funny, Johnny-boy, that’s all it takes!’”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I think he’s funny,” Arthur half-shrugs, and Sean’s laughing again. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Of course </span>
  <em>
    <span>you </span>
  </em>
  <span>do, and John thinks you’re a riot, as well,” Sean transfers the camcorder to his right hand to slap at Arthur’s knee with his left. “Talks about you all the time, he does. Like you’re some sort of king.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>A beat of silence passes between them before Sean picks up on his own words.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Heh, </span>
  <em>
    <span>King Arthur,</span>
  </em>
  <span>” Sean laughs again. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>It’s nothing Arthur hasn’t heard before but he rolls his eyes anyway. He kinda likes Sean nonetheless, even if he does talk too much. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Look alive, Sean, Karen’s here,” John skates over to the bleachers that Arthur and Sean are currently occupying and powerslides to a stop. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Both Arthur and Sean’s heads turn in the direction John nods his head towards to see a blonde who looks almost as out of place in the skatepark as Arthur does. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“There she is!” Sean calls out, nearly tripping over the bleacher seats as he scrambles down them and off in the direction of the blonde. “The absolute light of me life!” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh, shut up,” Karen responds, but in a way that practically anyone can tell that she doesn’t mean it. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>John takes Sean’s place beside Arthur on the bleachers, sitting in between the seats and draping his legs over the bench that Arthur’s seated on. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“That’s Karen,” John explains as he sits down, gesturing over to Sean and the blonde. “Sean’s </span>
  <em>
    <span>fiancee</span>
  </em>
  <span>.” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“D’you not like her?” Arthur asks, due to emphasis John puts on the word fiancee, and John shrugs. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah, she’s alright,” John replies, sitting his skateboard down beside him. “She’s moving in with me and Sean next week, kinda bummed about it if I’m being honest.” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Why?” Arthur looks at John, who’s peering down at his skateboard and picking at one of the faded stickers on the deck of it. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“‘Cause if she moves in, I’ll just be in the way,” John shrugs again. “I’ll be the third wheel, basically.” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Then, move out.” Arthur says, and he says it in a way that sounds absolutely simple, and he knows it’s not. It’s been years since Arthur moved out from Hosea’s, and it’s been a year since he built up his credit enough to get a mortgage on a house in a suburban neighborhood nestled near Hennigan’s Stead. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>It’s a nice neighborhood and it’s a beautiful house but still, the payments are high and owning a house by yourself just sucks in general. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>If only he had a roommate.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I would if I could,” John says. “But where the hell would I go?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“You could move in with me,” Arthur suggests and John looks at him, this time. “I’m barely making the payments by myself anyway, hell, a roommate would be </span>
  <em>
    <span>great</span>
  </em>
  <span>. I even have an extra bedroom that I’m not using.” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>John huffs out an amused little sound but he studies Arthur’s face for a second to see if he’s serious. Arthur’s probably never been more serious in his life. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Okay,” John draws the word out, and he smiles. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Okay?” Arthur can’t help but smile, too. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Yeah</span>
  </em>
  <span>, okay.” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Arthur lets himself reach out and pat at John’s knee. “Alright, then.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I was gettin’ tired of Sean and Karen fuckin’ in my bed anyway. They think that I don’t know, but I do.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“...They fuck in your bed?” Arthur asks like maybe he didn’t hear John right. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah,” John nods, leaning back against the bleachers. “Sean’s bed is the same one he had in high school - it’s pretty worn. Plus, mine has more room.” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Arthur sighs at this, prying his gaze away from John to look down at his hands. John lets out a laugh beside him, and Arthur’s laughing too for what seems like the umpteenth time that day. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Damn,” Arthur says, and John makes a noise that could be assumed as an agreement.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>***</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>About a week later, John moves in. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Luckily enough, Dutch owns another store a bit closer than the one John originally worked at, and John transfers there, having Sean fill his place, instead. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Arthur helps John move his belongings, which mainly consists of a few boxes of clothes, a few more boxes of old gaming consoles, some video games, his computer and his recording set up. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Also, the portrait that Arthur painted for him is something John carries out first, and when John hands Arthur a box labeled “cowboy squirrels” to throw in the backseat of his truck, Arthur doesn’t ask questions. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>It’d probably be best not to. </span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>look i just now realized that big "sean &amp; karen fuck at sean's welcome back party" thing happens in john's tent &amp; yea I understand that john's tent is one of the few with a little privacy but cOME ON YOU GUYS</p>
<p>also idk if I really see sean &amp; karen as the marriage type but if anything I kinda see them as being one of those couples that stay engaged for like years. idk it just felt right.</p>
<p>and yea, I totally used that "seahorses = see horses" thing from the zoo episode of it's always sunny in philadelphia bc it's kinda hilarious</p>
<p>also most of John's instructions during teaching Arthur to skateboard are derived from the Braille Skateboarding videos on YouTube bc they're actually full of pretty helpful and good tips on learning to skateboard.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Chapter 3</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>dialogue in bold is what's featured in John's videos</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>It’s been a couple of months since John’s moved in and it seems like Sean’s been over to visit every single day since then. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Not that Arthur really minds, his small two-bedroomed home had always felt a little too </span>
  <em>
    <span>empty </span>
  </em>
  <span>for his liking before John moved in. Now, if anything, his home feels more alive. It feels warm. It feels like a home </span>
  <em>
    <span>should</span>
  </em>
  <span> feel.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Arthur walking through the living room to see Sean laid back in the middle of their couch with his feet propped up on the coffee table, or him hearing John and Sean wheeze-laughing at some old episode of Beavis and Butthead while he’s busy in the kitchen trying to cook dinner has become something of second-nature. Arthur almost doesn’t even really think about it anymore.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>John and Sean have a friendship about as close and ridiculous as one that Arthur finds himself wishing he could’ve had at one point in his life. One filled with as much laughter, moral support, and ridiculous inside-jokes as two people could possibly manage.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>One of Arthur’s favorite inside-jokes that John and Sean let him in on has probably got to be the origin of John’s scars. The joke being that John comes up with a different explanation for them with each presented opportunity, and all explanations are just as extreme as the one before.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>John had told Arthur that he’d got his scars from being attacked by a pair of wolves up in the mountains. When he’d met Charles for the first time, John had told him that he’d been mauled by a bear. Then, about a month ago, Arthur had heard John on the phone to someone explaining how it’d been coyotes that had got ahold of him.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>John had later told Arthur that it’d been from a skating accident, but even then, he’d smiled a little bit too much for Arthur to just fully believe him. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Tonight, Sean’s over again, sitting between John and Arthur on the couch, arms spread out on either side on the back of it. They’re watching Bill &amp; Ted’s Excellent Adventure for the fourth time since John’s moved in. The ratty old VHS copy of the movie that John and Sean bought at a yard sale years ago is a self-proclaimed prized possession of John’s, along with his taxidermy collection. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Arthur regrets the day John talked him into watching the movie with a line as simple as, “C’mon, you </span>
  <em>
    <span>love </span>
  </em>
  <span>history, this movie’s totally </span>
  <em>
    <span>full</span>
  </em>
  <span> of history!”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>John and Sean can practically recite the whole movie, as they’ve proved it each time they’ve convinced Arthur to watch it with them. And while watching Bill &amp; Ted’s Excellent Adventure with John and Sean reciting the dialogue throughout the whole movie might’ve been a bit impressive the first time, it’s turned out to be kinda annoying for Arthur.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>It also takes John a good 24 hours to stop incessantly using the word “dude” in every single sentence after he’s watched that movie. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>John gets up during the parking lot scene, mumbling dismissals about having to go to the bathroom or something, and Sean automatically grabs for the remote. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“You want me to pause it?” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Nah, I’ll only be a minute,” John waves him off, trudging out of the living room and down the hall. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>It’s not even a second later that Arthur hears John call out, perfectly in-sync with the movie, “Bill...strange things are afoot at the Circle K.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Dudes, </span>
  </em>
  <span>you guys are gonna go back in time!” Sean calls out in response.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>When John doesn’t respond any further, Sean reaches for the remote again and pauses the movie, anyway.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“So, King Arthur,” he draws the words out in his normal voice, stretching his arms out behind him a bit. “When d’you plan on tellin’ Johnny-boy the news?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“What news?” Arthur inquires, glancing over at Sean, who’s nothing but all smiles. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>This gets Sean to laugh, low and amused, and he nudges at Arthur’s shoulder with his fist. “That you’re in love with him, of course!”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“What are you </span>
  <em>
    <span>talking about</span>
  </em>
  <span>?” Arthur asks, absolutely baffled but still keeping his voice quiet, in a guilty attempt to keep John from hearing. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh come on, don’t play coy with me,” Sean says. “I’ve seen the way you look at him, you might be pullin’ the wool over his eyes but you aren’t foolin’ me.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Arthur huffs out something of an unconvincing, incredulous sound but the way he keeps glancing towards the doorway of the living room probably tells on him enough as it is. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Thing is, however, I think he likes you too, if his texts are anything to go by,” Sean continues. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Poor boy nearly had a fit after he accidentally ran into you in the middle of the night out in the hallway, said you didn’t have any clothes on.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Arthur instantly remembers that incident like it was yesterday, despite having happened over two weeks ago. Around four in the morning, Arthur had woken up and him being half-asleep, had wandered out of his bedroom without bothering to pull his underwear on to go use the bathroom. He’d met John out in the hallway, who apparently was on his way back from the kitchen to grab a box of dry cereal for a snack, and he’d just froze when he saw Arthur. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I don’t sleep with clothes on,” Arthur elaborates, nearly stumbling over his words. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah, that’s what John said, too,” Sean shrugs. “I didn’t think you were his type, if I’m bein’ honest.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah? What is his type then?” Arthur tries sounding about as indifferent as possible, but the smile on Sean’s face says he’s not being too convincing. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Sean shrugs again. “Skaters, I guess. Early 2000s Bam Margera, I dunno. The man’s got a whole </span>
  <em>
    <span>golden rule </span>
  </em>
  <span>set up around his type.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“John has a </span>
  <em>
    <span>golden rule </span>
  </em>
  <span>about dating?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah, that whole ‘we can’t date if you don’t skate’ thing. John’s pretty much stuck by it his whole dating career.” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“That’s a bit shallow for John, don’t you think?” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Sean looks like he’s considering this. “Well, </span>
  <em>
    <span>yeah</span>
  </em>
  <span>. Skating’s just important to John, it always has been. The man practically eats, sleeps, and breathes skateboarding, I’m guessing he just wants a significant other with the same interests, hobby-wise.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Arthur hears the toilet flush from down the hall, and a bit of panic rises within him at the thought of John walking in on this conversation. “What’s your point?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Me point is that John’s full of surprises,” Sean explains. “He’s surprised me constantly throughout our entire friendship, and I’m just sayin’ that he might surprise you, too.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“How insightful,” Arthur feign-mocks and Sean’s laughing again. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>John shows back up a few seconds later and plops down on his side of the couch, and Sean resumes the movie. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“You are going to have the most </span>
  <em>
    <span>excellent </span>
  </em>
  <span>adventure through history,” John recites along with the movie, and if Arthur wasn’t looking over at John, he would’ve missed the all-knowing smirk Sean throws at him. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>***</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>A couple of days later, John absolutely insists on coming along with Arthur on a trip to Michaels. Something about trying to rack up a few subscribers from the arts and crafts side of YouTube, and making a “Michaels Haul” video would somehow accomplish that.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The trip was supposed to be just a simple in and out, long enough for Arthur to grab a few scrapbooking supplies for Hosea and to get himself some more canvases and some new oil paints for a couple of commissions he’d received. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>However, with the addition of John tagging along, Arthur knows the trip to Michaels won’t be as simple as he’d originally planned. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“You sure you’re cool with bein’ in the video?” John asks as he’s settling into the passenger’s seat of Arthur’s truck, already pulling out his camcorder. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Sure,” Arthur shrugs, glancing behind him as he pulls out of their driveway. “It’s not like I haven’t been in ‘em before, or at least walkin’ around in the background.” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>John checks himself in the viewfinder before he starts recording, putting on a voice about as cheerful and over the top as the one he uses for customer service. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <b>“Hey, what’s up, guys? It’s me, with Arthur -” </b>
  <span>John flicks the camera over to get Arthur in frame for a split second before focusing it back on himself. </span>
  <b>“Tell the subscribers hi, Arthur, don’t be stuck up.” </b>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>John focuses the camera back on Arthur long enough for Arthur to glance at himself in the viewfinder. </span>
  <b>“Hi, Sean.”</b>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <b>“Very funny.” </b>
  <span>John focuses the camera back on himself. </span>
  <b>“Anyway, we’re goin’ on a road trip -”</b>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <b>“We’re goin’ to </b>
  <b>
    <em>Michaels</em>
  </b>
  <b>.”</b>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <b>“We’re goin’ on a </b>
  <b>
    <em>road trip to Michaels, </em>
  </b>
  <b>and we’re gonna pick up some art stuff for Arthur because he paints and he’s very talented-”</b>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <b>“Aw, thank you.”</b>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <b>“You’re welcome. Anyway, yeah, we’ll see y’all there in a bit.”</b>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>***</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The camera’s focused on John’s brand new Vans as they carry him through the parking lot of Michaels. </span>
  <b>“You think I could ride my skateboard in here?”</b>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The camera flicks up to show the back of Arthur as he glances over his shoulder at John, brows furrowed. </span>
  <b>“</b>
  <b>
    <em>Can you ride your skateboard in Michaels?</em>
  </b>
  <b> No, absolutely not.”</b>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <b>“They let me ride it in Walmart sometimes,”</b>
  <span> John mumbles loud enough for the camera to catch it as he continues to follow behind Arthur. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Arthur doesn’t even glance back at him this time. </span>
  <b>“John, if you get me kicked out of here, I’m - well, I don’t know what I’ll do -  but I won’t be happy about it.”</b>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>***</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>John only keeps the camera filming during certain parts of their time spent in Michaels, most of the video is separated by just random footage that John feels is necessary. He records a quick section of the seasonal aisle, and it’s mid-summer so the aisle is filled with Fourth of July decorations, BBQ themed decorations, along with a few flamingos here and there. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The camera follows behind Arthur, who’s strolling along the aisle with a buggy. He stops at one point, pointing to a pillow featuring a flamingo laid back on a float in the middle of a pool that reads, </span>
  <em>
    <span>It’s time to flamingle. </span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Arthur glances back into the camera, a grin on his face, still pointing to the pillow. </span>
  <b>“That’s you.”</b>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>John isn’t sure if that’s a crack at him not being able to swim, him requiring a float to be in the pool, or just the saying alone, because “it’s time to flamingle” definitely sounds like some weird catchphrase John would try to make happen. </span>
  <em>
    
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>John follows Arthur a little further along the aisle, circling around into the aisle beside it that features even more pool party and patio BBQ themed decor. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>John records himself picking up some popsicle-shaped hanging lights. </span>
  <b>“Arthur, check this out.”</b>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Arthur stops, turning around to look at the item in John’s hand. He barely even glances at it before turning back around and resuming to push the buggy forward. </span>
  <b>“We don’t need that.”</b>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>John doesn’t record again until a few aisles later, in which he finds a sign in one of the home decor aisles that reads, </span>
  <em>
    <span>My prince did come and his name is daddy. </span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>John even records Arthur’s reaction to reading the sign, in which he looks like he’s trying really hard not to laugh, but then he does, and drags a hand over his face. </span>
  <b>“We definitely don’t need that.”</b>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <b>“I’m gettin’ it,” </b>
  <span>John says, tossing it in the buggy. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Arthur doesn’t protest any further, but the camera flicks up just enough to catch Arthur’s smile as he pushes the buggy forward. </span>
  <b>“You’re keepin’ it in your room, then.”</b>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>John records Arthur as he wanders through the scrapbooking aisle, and he records himself pointing to a scrapbook album featuring a giraffe with sunglasses. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <b>“Get Hosea this one,” </b>
  <span>John says, and Arthur turns to look at the album. </span>
  <b>“Look at this giraffe, he’s cool!”</b>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <b>“He doesn’t need a new album yet,” </b>
  <span>Arthur says.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <b>“Get him one anyway, I bet he’d like it.”</b>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <b>“I’m sure he would,” </b>
  <span>Arthur dismisses, turning back around and pushing forward. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>John includes some footage of Arthur looking through the sticker aisle, pulling off some summer-themed ones, and throwing them in the buggy. He also records Arthur picking out some paper pads and a couple of rolls of washi tape. John will probably throw some royalty-free music over this section of the video when he edits it later.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>***</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Y’know, maybe you could like, let me film you painting and put it up on my channel,” John suggests as he follows Arthur into the aisle full of canvases. “I could merge in with the art Youtubers, it might get me a few more subscribers.” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Arthur glances back at John as he places a couple of two-packs of 12’’ x 16’’ canvases into the buggy. “What exactly is the section of YouTube that you currently belong to, again?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“The videogaming skateboarding section,” John shrugs. “And the Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater speedrun section.” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Right,” Arthur chuckles, moving forward. “Nobody would wanna watch me paint, John.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I bet they would,” John says, following after him. “People love to watch other people paint nowadays, there’s a whole section of YouTube devoted to it.” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Arthur glances back at him as he rounds a corner. “Well, okay, I’ll let you film me painting, if it’ll help you get some more subscribers.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Awesome, thank you.” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Only if you let me in on some of that YouTube money that starts rollin’ in when you’re a big and famous internet personality.” Arthur jokes, throwing a smile over his shoulder. One so warm that John kind of wishes he could’ve caught it on camera. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>John films a few more scenes during the remainder of their time in Michaels. One of Arthur looking at the bullet journals even though he just one for next year a couple of weeks ago. One of Arthur spending ten minutes to pick out some oil paints and asking John which colors he thought was more green. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <b>“Permanent Green Light or Sap Green?” </b>
  <span>Arthur asks, holding out the two tubes of paint. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <b>“Sap,” </b>
  <span>John answers, and Arthur nods, throwing one tube of paint in the buggy and placing the other one back on the shelf. </span>
  <b>“Because that’s what you are.”</b>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>There’s something so affectionately teasing in his voice that John doesn’t even catch until he’s editing the video, a tone that he’s heard Karen take up when she’s mocking Sean, and John practically rolls his eyes at himself. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He titles the video, “Follow me around Michaels with Arthur!!” and posts it to his channel the next day. The thumbnail is a picture of Arthur smiling at him when he’d kinkshamed the very same sign that now hangs in his room above his desk. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>***</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The camera focuses on Arthur, standing outside on the back porch in front of his easel with one of the canvases propped up on it. Arthur looks directly into the camera and then his eyes flick up to John. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“What do I say?” Arthur asks. “Wait - are you filming yet?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“No,” John shakes his head, zooming in a bit and trying to get the camera to focus again. “Just explain the painting and what it is, and then just I dunno, </span>
  <em>
    <span>paint.</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Okay,” Arthur says, and he exhales. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Lemme know when you’re ready,” John says when the camera focuses. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Okay,” Arthur says again, shifting. “I’m ready.” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <b>“Hi,” </b>
  <span>Arthur greets weakly and John zooms in on his face, a bit too close at first before pulling back. </span>
  <b>“I’m painting a landscape, it’s for a commission, it’s got uh, trees and stuff, I suppose, so - yeah.” </b>
</p>
<p>
  <span>John gives him a thumbs up and Arthur goes to painting. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The video takes two days to film, Arthur using what daylight is left after he gets home from work to paint out on the back porch. The video is mostly a time-lapse, sped-up a bit but slowing down to real-time occasionally to catch some of Arthur’s commentary on some of the figures he paints. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <b>“If you don’t know already, the fan brush is great for painting trees with, I’m sure y’all already know that.” </b>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <b>“I’m painting a pond in this area, and don’t forget to include some reflections in it so it makes it look more - </b>
  <b>
    <em>realistic, </em>
  </b>
  <b>I guess. Water is a reflective surface, yeah.” </b>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <b>“I’m putting a little deer over here beside this tree, because I dunno, it just seems like where he wants to be.” </b>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>John uploads a total of three videos featuring Arthur painting, and he even makes a new playlist dedicated to the videos. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>What John doesn’t entirely expect is to wake up one morning with ten new subscribers after he uploads the third video. Below the notification informing him of his new subscribers, he sees that Sean left a comment on one of the “Arthur painting” videos that John uploaded a couple of days ago. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“What a hunk!” </span>
  </em>
  <span>followed with a paint palette emoji. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>John replies to the comment with a, “Yeah, I know” and doesn’t think anything about it until he’s showing Arthur the comment at breakfast. He could almost swear he sees Arthur’s cheeks turn a bit pink out of his peripheral.   </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>That night, he and Arthur eat dinner at one of the local steakhouses in celebration of John’s now 12 subscriber YouTube channel. </span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>thanks to <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/WhyWouldIEver">addie</a> for giving me the idea to include <a href="https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/685620047926132748/732010538107928637/CgF25uVUMAAvXHi.png">this</a> in the michaels date chapter &amp; <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ryu_No_Joou">ryu</a> for the bit about john &amp; sean finding the old vhs copy of bill &amp; ted at a yard sale!!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Chapter 4</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>words or bits of dialogue in bold are part of john's youtube videos</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Something happens in between being parked in the driveway of their home to being parked in the parking lot of the New Austin SPCA, something Arthur can admit he saw coming but surprises him nonetheless.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Well - maybe it happens </span>
  <em>
    <span>before</span>
  </em>
  <span> then, when they were still at home going through their usual morning routines. Ones that had come a long way to practically revolving around each other at this point.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Sometime or another the routine of awkwardly stumbling around each other and complaining about one using up all the hot water in the shower had vanished - although Arthur isn’t exactly sure when.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>John had been vibrating that entire morning: scooting around on the tiled floors of their kitchen in his socks as he made the two of them breakfast, singing in the shower, trying to tickle Arthur when they brushed their teeth at the sink together.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>John still had a smear of toothpaste on the corner of his mouth when they sat down for breakfast, one that he’d smugly invited Arthur to come wipe off himself when Arthur called attention to it.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Which, maybe that wasn’t out of the ordinary, the two of them would swap casual flirty comments all the time - almost in a similar manner to what he’d seen Sean and Karen do.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>No, John had been </span>
  <em>
    <span>flirty</span>
  </em>
  <span> that whole morning, and there wasn’t anything </span>
  <em>
    <span>casual </span>
  </em>
  <span>about it. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Cold palms on either side of Arthur’s hips, just above the waistband of his pajama pants as John comes up behind him and nudges him to the side so he can grab a plate from the cupboard above him, ones that linger, ones that immediately try tickling him again.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jerking back the curtain when Arthur’s in the shower, not that Arthur minded - they’d seen each other naked plenty of times at this point, and not in the context to which Sean teases them about. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Meeting Arthur’s gaze in the mirror when they brush their teeth together, holding it till he had a mouthful of toothpaste and a lopsided, goofy smile. Piggybacking off Arthur the short distance from the bathroom to the kitchen. Forming a heart out of the chocolate chips in the pancakes he makes Arthur for breakfast.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>If Arthur didn’t know any better, he’d chalk it up to the unrelenting excitement John’s expressed about </span>
  <em>
    <span>this day</span>
  </em>
  <span> in particular. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>After some heavy debating and research, they’ve made the decision to take a trip to the New Austin SPCA to adopt a dog. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Sure, it was nothing but a mere impulse at the beginning stages of the decision, one that both John and Arthur were eager about. Now, it just seems right. One more addition to their cookie-cutter suburban lifestyle that makes it all that much more...</span>
  <em>
    <span>suburban. </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A dog eagerly following behind Arthur as he walks outside to grab the mail in the mornings. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A dog curled up with John on the couch as he plays video games in the afternoon. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It’s a life Arthur can already easily imagine for themselves.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>John nearly walks out of the house without his camcorder - he doesn’t even take it out till they reach the SPCA.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>But, on the way there, is when something happens that really grabs Arthur’s attention. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>John’s actually sitting up straight in his seat, wearing another one of Arthur’s jackets that he “borrowed” and one of his favorite beanies stuffed onto his head. He’s talking over the punk rock music playing over the radio from his Spotify playlist - he’s happy, he’s so goddamn </span>
  <em>
    <span>happy</span>
  </em>
  <span> it practically radiates from him and Arthur </span>
  <em>
    <span>feels</span>
  </em>
  <span> it, too.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We’re gonna be dog dads,” John beams at Arthur, reaching out and grabbing his hand as he’s letting off the gearshift. Arthur glances at him, glances down at his own hand covered with both of John’s, and it happens. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Or rather - it’d been happening all morning up until this point when it’s made obvious. Like a row of dominoes all falling down together neatly in a line. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Arthur realizes that he might be totally, completely, one-hundred-percent in love with John - except there’s no </span>
  <em>
    <span>might be </span>
  </em>
  <span>to it.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He’s in love with John, and he wants to tell him so bad he’s not even sure he could really stop the words from tumbling out.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Dog dads</span>
  </em>
  <span>, can you believe it?” John emphasizes the words like Arthur might’ve not heard him. He doesn’t let go of his hand, he just holds it there until Arthur has to change gears again. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I can believe it,” Arthur tells John instead of telling him that he loves him, and the words leave him with a sigh like he’s disappointed in his own choice of response.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>***</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>John jumps out first, circling around the truck to film Arthur getting out. Despite Arthur’s jaw starting to ache from smiling so much on the ride there, Arthur can’t help but smile again at seeing John back to his commonplace habit of squinting at him through the viewfinder of his camcorder.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>“Okay, so we’re here - why don’t you tell them where we are, Arthur?”</b>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Arthur closes the driver's side door of the truck behind him and shoves his keys in the pocket of his jeans before looking back up into the camera. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>“We are at the New Austin SPCA to find a family friend.”</b>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>John excitedly spins the camera around to face himself. Arthur can imagine the view that the camera is filming could easily be compared to the famous Blair Witch “up the nostrils” scene. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>“We’re getting a dog.” </b>
  <span>John clarifies, completely unnecessary. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>“Yeah, I’m sure they got that.”</b>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>John records Arthur as they leave the car and walk towards the front of the building with the words “Adoption Center” printed above the entrance doors in big bold letters. Arthur glances back at John, stopping to let him catch up, and throws an arm over John’s shoulders when he does. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>***</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They pass by the cats first, all of which John records as he walks by, until they reach a hallway with white walls and shiny wooden floors complete with windows that allow you to look into the rooms that some of the dogs inhabit. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Arthur’s already wandered up ahead of John when he calls him back, and he turns around to see John motioning him over with his free hand. Arthur walks back to see the window John’s stopped at and looks in at a full-grown black and brown Yorkie. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A <em>Yo</em></span>
  <em>
    <span><em>rkie</em> mix</span>
  </em>
  <span> as the tag on the window clarifies.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“His name is </span>
  <em>
    <span>Old Boy</span>
  </em>
  <span>,” John half-chuckles, camcorder pointed directly at the dog now and Old Boy stares right back up at it. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“He doesn’t look like much of an Old Boy,” Arthur muses.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I think he does,” John’s attention is strictly fixated on the dog, and Old Boy yips at him from the other side of the glass. “I think he likes me.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I think he’s tellin’ you to fuck off,” Arthur jokes.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No,” John drags the word out, till he finally drags his attention back to Arthur. “He’s the one.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“He’s the one you wanna get?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah,” John nods, absolutely positive.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well, let’s make sure he likes you first and isn’t just barking at you cause you’re gawking at him.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>***</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Old Boy </span>
  <em>
    <span>loves </span>
  </em>
  <span>John, practically climbing up his pant leg as soon as John gets in the same room as him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>While John’s filling out the paperwork for Old Boy, Arthur finds a vizsla mix with the charming name of Copper - assumed to be by the color of his rusty-golden coat. Copper takes to Arthur just as easily as Old Boy did with John, and they go home with two dogs instead of just the intended </span>
  <em>
    <span>one</span>
  </em>
  <span>.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Copper and Old Boy seem to get along just as well, too, and Arthur couldn’t imagine a more perfect day if he tried.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The only downside being that John has to leave for work a couple of hours later, to which Arthur drops him off and picks him back up later that night - bringing Old Boy with him as a surprise.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>John’s gaze settles on Arthur first when he walks in the door - into too-bright fluorescent lights and the smell of dusty alcohol bottles, and it’s hard to mistake the way John’s face lights up. This is the first time Arthur’s ever surprised John by visiting him at work - he’s picked him up and dropped him off plenty of times, and he’s starting to wonder why he hadn’t done this sooner.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What’re you doin’ here?” John asks, a rhetorical question, although he seems overjoyed to see Arthur as he peers at him from behind the register. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Brought you a surprise,” Arthur walks around to the front of the counter which John stands behind, gesturing to Old Boy in his arms, who’s already yipping away excitedly at the sight of John. “Think he missed you.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>***</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Arthur doesn’t get the chance that night to tell John he loves him, but he does kiss him - in the kitchen, when John’s staring into his bowl of Chef Boyardee’s Beefaroni and he’s got his hair pulled back and out of his eyes.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Arthur doesn’t get the chance to say anything.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>One second he’s leaning back against the counter, watching John chase around a noodle in his bowl with his fork, and the next, he’s got John’s face in between his hands and he’s kissing him. Arthur’s kissing him, and John tastes like sugary meat sauce.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The kiss starts out kinda frantic, and John’s kissing Arthur back so hard he’s almost sure he’s trying to bruise his lips. Arthur’s hands wander from the sides of John’s face to up into his hair, and he works it out of the loose ponytail John’s got it pulled up into so he can run his fingers through it.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>John’s hands are on Arthur’s shoulders, the kiss slows, then picks up speed again, and John’s hands are on Arthur’s biceps.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>John kisses Arthur like he’s been doing it for years, and Arthur finds himself hoping John gets the experience to do so.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>John’s eyes flutter open when Arthur pulls away, and he looks like he’s in a dream. Dazed-like.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Then, the corners of his mouth twitch up and he’s smiling. Arthur’s smiling too. They must’ve knocked over the bowl of Beefaroni somewhere in the process because it’s tipped over now, noodles and meat sauce spilled over the table but it goes unregarded.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They’re both just smiling at each other. Arthur feels like he could live this moment for the rest of his life.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>***</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>
    <em>arthur catches me cheating...at trying to teach old boy tricks</em>
  </b>
</p><p><b><em>87 views</em></b> <b><em>3 likes 2 dislikes</em></b></p><p>
  <b>
    <em>JohnathanMarston</em>
  </b>
</p><p>
  <b>
    <em>17 subscribers</em>
  </b>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <b>“Okay, so as you all saw a couple of videos back, we adopted two dogs: Copper and Old Boy,”</b>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Arthur tilts the camera down to get a shot of Old Boy who is standing by John’s feet, tail wagging and jumping on John’s feet like he can’t understand why all of John’s attention isn’t being focused on him right now. Then he circles around to get a shot of Copper, who is sleeping peacefully on the sofa a few feet away before getting John back in frame.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>“And today, we’re gonna attempt to teach these two a few tricks.”</b>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>“Copper already knows how to shake,” </b>
  <span>Arthur says off-screen.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>With this reminder, John’s famous shit-eating Youtube grin is gone. </span>
  <b>“Yes, thank you for reminding me of the advantage you have.”</b>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>~</b>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>“Copper...Copper”</b>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Arthur is seated in the middle of the living room floor with a few treats, legs spread out - the absolute image of confidence and relaxed all bundled into one - and Copper - now awake, is seated in front of him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Copper glances up at Arthur, which widens the smile that’s now plastered on Arthur’s face, and he gets rewarded with a treat. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>“Oh, c’mon,” </b>
  <span>John says, off-camera, and Arthur looks up at him behind the camcorder and he’s still smiling. </span>
  <b>“He’s just looking at you because you’re talking. He doesn’t know his name yet.”</b>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>“I’m talking right now and he’s not looking,” </b>
  <span>Arthur glances back down at the dog like he’s making sure, and well, he’s right. Copper’s attention is diverted off in the other direction where Old Boy is terrorizing one of the plush squeaky toys John bought him at PetSmart.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>And just to prove a point, Arthur turns his attention back to Copper fully again. He says his name again, and Copper looks. He gets another treat.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>“Does Old Boy know </b>
  <b>
    <em>his</em>
  </b>
  <b> name yet?” </b>
  <span>Arthur asks, glancing back up at John.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>“We’re working on it,” </b>
  <span>John says instead of saying no. Arthur laughs like he can see John’s intentional answer like it’s plastered on his forehead.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>~</b>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>“I oughta teach Old Boy how to skate,” </b>
  <span>It’s John’s turn to be sprawled out on their living room floor, Old Boy seated contently in his lap.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>“Let’s start with the smaller stuff first, then we’ll work our way up,” </b>
  <span>Arthur says, the camcorder back in his hands now. </span>
  <b>“Might be a little hard to teach him how to ride a skateboard if he doesn’t know when you’re telling him to sit or stay.”</b>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>“He knows how to sit,” </b>
  <span>John insists, and this claim is met with a dubious look from Arthur that isn’t seen by the camera. It doesn’t need to be seen, however, because the look of defensiveness that takes over John’s face instantaneously says plenty. </span>
  <b>“What? He does!”</b>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>“Let’s see it, then.”</b>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>John picks Old Boy out of his lap and places him down on the floor in front of him, and has to keep repeating the process a couple of times due to the dog trying to climb back up in John’s lap.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>When Old Boy’s settled, John says, </span>
  <b>“Alright, Old Boy - sit.”</b>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Old Boy doesn’t listen, and keeps sauntering forward to climb onto John’s legs again.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>“No, no - sit, Old Boy - sit,” </b>
  <span>John places him back, and the dog keeps walking forward like John’s commanding the exact opposite.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>“Sit,” </b>
  <span>John tries again, placing him back on his feet and gently pushing down on his back so his tail touches the ground. And with John’s coaxing, Old Boy’s sitting.  </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>“See? I told you he knows how to sit,” </b>
  <span>John beams up at the camera, and lets Old Boy climb back up in his lap.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>“You just cheated, you made him sit!” </b>
  <span>Arthur’s voice is amused disbelief offscreen as the camera takes in Old Boy now climbing up to lick at John’s face. </span>
  <b>“That’s cheating!”</b>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>“No it’s not - he did that on his own!” </b>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>“No, he </b>
  <b>
    <em>didn’t</em>
  </b>
  <b>!”</b>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>***</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>
    <em>We have thps 1+2 at home, thps 1+2 at home:</em>
  </b>
</p><p> </p><p><b><em>215 views</em></b> <b><em>10 likes 1 dislike</em></b></p><p>
  <b>
    <em>JohnathanMarston</em>
  </b>
</p><p>
  <b>
    <em>18 subscribers</em>
  </b>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>
    <em>thps 1+2 = 3 cool dudes &amp; their real life skating obstacle course!</em>
  </b>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>
    <em>“Remember this place?” </em>
  </b>
  <span>John’s on his skateboard, poised at the top of his three hundred dollar quarter pipe ramp he bought himself for his birthday a couple of months ago. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Sean brought his camera stand so nobody has to hold the camcorder while they’re filming this, and it’s set up right behind the quarter pipe, getting John in view at a semi-wide angle as he’s peering over his shoulder at the camera.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A few shots of their makeshift DIY skatepark is cut in: a front view of the quarter pipe, Sean’s car buried underneath cardboard and wooden planks to provide as a ramp, along with another, heavier plank of wood provided as a grind box. Another shot is included with Arthur sitting on top of Sean’s car, holding out separate flags that - when put together, spell out the word S-K-A-T-E.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A real Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater level come to life. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Then, John’s back in-camera, and takes off on his skateboard. The video shows different shots of John and Sean performing flip tricks on the quarter pipe - a bit toned down in comparison as to what’s usually shown on their skating videos shot at the skatepark due to the quarter pipe’s limited size. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>John skates up one of the wooden planks propped up against Sean’s car, and Arthur hands him a flag. Sean follows suit and he gets a flag as well. There doesn’t seem to be any real objective or goals taking place, as the video mainly serves for the same purpose as the rest of their skating videos do - just the two of them showing off together. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A real, proper name for their DIY skatepark comes from Sean in the comments of the video: Skeet Street.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>John earns himself five new followers, probably trying to look up videos from the actual video game but landing on this video, instead. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Either way, he’ll take it.</span>
</p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>yes i had to include something about thps 1+2 because it's nice to imagine youtube au john &amp; sean being as hype about it as I am<br/>youtube au john is my favorite john to project onto</p><p>also that last part is a direct reference to one of the thps 1+2 trailer which i screamed about for like 2 days straight : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_d4RLRCghA8</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
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